Fire Emblem: From Light to Night
by Mark-Kris Robin Lancer
Summary: War. War, is an everyday chore, waged for power, waged for peace; waged for fortune, waged for freedom. War is when the world will end. War is where life begins anew. War is when the powerless find power and the powerful fall to their depths, where the worst of mankind is exhibited, where the best of mankind is shown. War, is where peace begins. A Dystopian-Fantasy AU.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: Fire Emblem is solely owned by Intelligent Systems. TearRing Saga belong to Shouzou Kaga. That one non-canon character that will be revealed belatedly is mine.**

* * *

 _Inspired by George Orwell's 1984  
Posessing elements of Dark Souls and Bloodborne  
A dystopian, crossover take upon the Fire Emblem series_

 **Fire Emblem: From Light to Night**

* * *

 _Chapter 1: Simple, Yet Slow_

* * *

Cheine was a simple guy. He liked sweets. He liked skipping stones and making small talk at work. He was especially fond of makeup and the many wonderful things he could do with it (although that was a secret he kept to himself), but just in general, Cheine really liked the simple things that life has to offer. That, and smiling.

Unfortunately, the slums of Lumen was not usually a place to offer such small luxuries.

Cheine always found it funny how a city named after light, in their world named of the light, a city that promised comfort and peace, could have something so dark and vestigial as a _slum_. Still, it existed, and he lived in them too, and under a very strict law to always have his head covered. Well, just _his_ head. All the other heads with their ordinary black, brown, gray or white hair were fine. The authorities didn't like red hair, apparently. Hells, even the Triune didn't like it all that much too, seeing as how a Saint actually had to visit him at his birth, whenever that was.

Right. Where was he? In the alleyways, waiting and waiting and waiting and waiting and not enjoying anything while waiting. No one rushed rushed in Lux. "Haste makes waste," as Mira, the goddess of Peace said. Cheine thought that was a bunch of baloney but never dared to voice his thoughts. No reason to cause harm to himself, after all. Besides, he could think of a few lives that would be a bit sad for him if he was gone for far too long before he was inevitably forgotten about.

Cheine didn't like being bored. Even here in the poorer district, there was no trash to distract him (thanks, Health Director Maribelle), just him and his worn boots to kick around in. He pouted at his slight, trivial misfortune.

" _Psst!_ "

Well, his inward complaining would have to wait.

Cheine turned around, smiling brightly at his best friend, who was masked and beaming as usual. "Lucina!" he cried out joyfully.

"Sh, not so loud," she whispered, bringing a finger up to her lips, turned up into a sneaky smile. "I can't have my guards know I'm here. We have around... I don't know, half the day at best? Maybe we might be lucky and Kris would tell Chris to let me go free for now, I don't know." The first Kris was probably the man, the second his twin sister. Or maybe it was the other way around? Luci's bodyguards always struck as a mystery for him.

Lucina, or Luci as Cheine prefers calling her, was always such a sweet little soul, too good for the lowly redhead to even have him be an option of being the slightest bit interesting for her, and yet they're still friends. For that, he would always be grateful. Behind the mask she always wore, he knew that her eyes must be crinkling in happiness.

"Awesome! And I'm off today!" He grabbed her hand and ran off to his shared living quarters.

It was decent, at best. Cheine did his best to keep it moderately clean, even though Forseti never cared about "such trivialities". Speaking of the eccentric, he only glanced at the pair before gazing back outside the window, something that he always did whenever Lewyn was out at work.

Darned shut in. He was only in his middle ages; it wasn't as if he wasn't capable of doing work too. However, that's his own business. Cheine never minded, unless he wanted to buy something that was a bit pricier than what was normally sold.

Luci was already used to his strangeness long ago, and it didn't deter her and Cheine's excitement as she set a bag down on the floor. The boy put down his hood, sighing in relief from the dark, clothed confinement and eagerly opened it. His eyes sparkled with a childish happiness as he brought out various foundations, powder, eyeliner, and just a bit more.

"Is this from the new line by Pent&Louise?" He asked, picking up a container of bronzer. Luci nodded, taking out some mascara.

"I believe you wanted this. I got really lucky with it too. I attended supper along with Father and Mother with the Ilian sisters, and the youngest one, Shanna, gave it to me for free," she said, groaning in utter hatred as she remembered the event. "It was terrible, but at least they had nice horses. I still don't get why Father doesn't let me ride any." She stuck her lower lip out and pouted childishly, setting the cosmetic product down and taking a long, thin piece of cloth out. "By the way, try this!"

Cheine took it from her and inspected it. It was made from fine-quality silk, and probably must have had an original purpose that was not being a headband, but... "Woah... now that's really nice. Oboro?"

"Yes." She sat on the ground together with the redhead, her jittery bouncing up and down giving away her excitement. "I just want to see if it fits you..."

Cheine laughed and quickly tied it on, shaking his head back and forth with exaggeration and laughing. "Of course it fits, _and_ it looks good, of course!" He winked jokingly as Luci laughed. Somewhere off to the side, Forseti snorted in amusement. "Thanks for the stuff, Luci."

"No problem!" They rose up and properly put away Cheine's new playthings, getting some water to drink before setting it down and setting themselves on some chairs. Luci took her hands out, fisted with the exception of her index fingers pointing at him. Cheine looked at her, confused.

"What is this?" he asked, slowly imitating her hands. She did strange things like this too. Was this a new "game"? She started doing so every once in a while since a few years ago. No one else did such things, at least not in the slums. Maybe it was a thing that the blessed-blooded do. He smiled in anticipation.

"A new game. Forseti, do you want to join us?" she offered, looking hopefully at the chocolate-haired man, still sitting and staring out of the window.

He looked back towards them and smiled before shaking his head. "No need. You two enjoy yourselves." He returned his head to the exact same position, as if he was keeping some sort of vigil over the sky.

The two teens shrugged, and Luci commenced the game.

"It's called 'Sticks', and it's a math game of some sort. You really need to use your brain. You still remember your numbers, right?" she teased, nudging Cheine's wrist.

He blew a raspberry and poked her back. "Look, just because I'm not little 'Miss Demon-slaying Genius' doesn't mean I'm dumb!" he defended adamantly.

"Yeah, but a certain someone had a lot of trouble between twos and sevens and multiplying to twelve~" she egged him on, smiling slyly.

"Luci, _that was six years ago!_ "

They laughed and played together. Cheine quickly picked up the rules and soon was having a competition with his best friend on who could win the most rounds in one hour. It was times like these that the redhead didn't mind life at all. Sure, Lumen was boring and dull, and it seemed that everyone did not live and work for a purpose (unless you were a soldier or a saint), but everyone was united in the war against Nox, no strife and conflict arose within this nation of light, and people like Luci existed.

She taught him so many things when she came to his life. Not only did he discover his love for dressing up and mimicking any face that he saw, but also how he found so much enjoyment from these new "games" that she shared with him, something that he saw that no one else did. Maybe others too play "games"in privacy, and they weren't something to be done in public? She even introduced him to something called "questioning". It was a strange thing to do, almost heretic, but Cheine seemed to revel in such a strange thing that he wasn't very sure if the Triune would have approved of it. Speaking of "questioning"...

"Luci, I have a question."

She looked up from their game, nearly on the verge of losing. She didn't look like she minded it though. "Yes?"

"Did someone teach you these things?"

She pressed her lips together, her stance becoming more contemplative than the simple reasoning she needed for "Sticks".

Why did her mask, innocently resembling a butterfly, seem... oppressive?

She smiled. "A friend in the military."

"Oh. That's cool." Must have been his imagination.

And so they kept on playing until Luci asked a question of her own. "Do you ever feel like... there isn't enough for you? Like, life just seems so... lifeless?" she asked him, completing his four fingers into five with her own single finger, putting it out of use. Unfortunately, he was able to separate the remaining two on his other hand and share a one with his hand that was recently defeated. It was his time to be thinking seriously now, more serious than he was used to.

"Well... I guess. It seems like I have no purpose, no goal, and neither does anyone else, but I don't mind it too much." He laughed to himself as he suddenly came to a strange thought. "I think my purpose for living is waiting for you to come visit me whenever you could."

For some reason, Luci frowned. "That's sad, Cheine."

He shrugged and won this match, starting over with a new one. "Not really. It's nice to be able to live for moments like these, you know?"

"I suppose so."

They continued playing for a long while, their chatter filtering out into a nice silence, not like the stifling silence of Lumen when he was out on the streets, rushing to the quarters right before curfew.

"Lucina."

Forseti's sudden voice startled the two of them, and Cheine nearly fell of his chair from the sudden surprise. "Hey, Forseti-"

"General Sirius is around."

For some reason, Luci started panicking, her face flushing in shame, and sunk to the floor. Cheine didn't understand at all her actions. It was just a passing soldier...

Cheine thought over his guardian's words and ran over the words "General Sirius".

"General".

What was a General doing in the slums?!

For some inexplicable reason, Cheine's heart began thumping loudly as he sat too, nudging alongside to Luci. Forseti kept his vigil at the window, looking out passively. "It will storm soon, Luci. You should go home now."

She squeaked out something that wasn't understandable, now at a dark corner away from the window, where no one looking outside in could see her. Cheine completely understood her. Sure, Sirius was not a behemoth of a man, unlike a few other notable Generals, but he was deadly skilled in everything he did, whether it be combat, leadership, observation, or picking out the best ripe tomato to cook for dinner, or smash into juicy smithereens.

Alright, so the last comparison may have been a small tall tale, but anyone with as frightening a mask as him, which was completely white, save for a black slit for his eyes to see through, could not be a nice man at all.

Still, he poked his head out, peeking at the window to take a small glance at the General.

He was facing the window, seeming to already stare right into Cheine's soul. He froze in fright, not knowing what to do. One gaze to Cheine said at all.

 _He knows._

The redhead collapsed to the floor, forgetting that he was not allowed to show his red hair to anyone outside of his guardian (and his guardian's younger brother), visibly shaking in fear. He looked up at Forseti, still staring out the window like how a child would eye at candy while passing a shop. Unsurprisingly, he was not fazed at all. Apathetic and lethargic as he was, it could only hold true that he feared nothing as well. Surprisingly, however, he rose from his seat and slowly ambled towards the door, confirming Cheine's childish fear. He looked at Luci, and her quivering lips gave away her guilt.

There was a series of soft knocks on the door, and so Forseti opened it, smiling civilly at the blond man, even bowing a little. "Good afternoon, most honored General. What may I assist you with?"

Luci didn't dare take her eyes off of her knees. Cheine followed suit. More chatter followed at the door.

"Your highness," a voice said. It wasn't too deep, but instead soothing and pleasant and not at all oppressive.

"I'm sorry-"

"You're skipping out in your miracle lessons," he stated. He almost sounded like... a father?

She whined in response and turned away. "You know I'm terrible at miracles, so why even continue?"

A sigh rung out and thumping footsteps, not at all like Forseti and Lewyn's lighter ones, approached closer. "We went over this conversation, Lady Lucina," the other person said, not unkindly. Despite her previous complaints, she didn't resist when a gloved hand reached out and grabbed her by the arm, pulling her up until she decided it convenient to stand without support. "I told the others that I sent you out into lone training today. You were very lucky that I could cover you, otherwise, goddesses know what might happen. Come along now."

Cheine looked up in curiosity, and immediately regretted it. A masked face looked down at him, shadowed by his own figure.

"Thank you very much for keeping her safe," he said, to the other's surprise.

The redhead continued to stare at their direction long after they left as Forseti continued his usual vigil.

* * *

"Cheine, you still look like you just saw a demon," Lewyn pointed out at dinner later that evening. The sun had long set, the fireplace now providing light for the family of three, if they were even a family. The meal was mashed potatoes and a large bowl of salad, and a terribly tiny bit of meat. Water was provided, of course, and the food provided just a bit of color as a stark piece of contrast to their uncomfortably white walls.

"B-b-b-but he just..." Cheine was unable to complete his sentence, still halfway frozen in a strange blend between fright and relieved astonishment.

"Is it really that strange for others to show human compassion?" Forseti asked, spooning a mouthful of the white mush into his mouth. He savored it slowly, even if it was mostly tasteless, save for a small sprinkle of salt. _Inhuman_ , Cheine thought.

"I-i-i-it's just that..." He trailed off, looking back to his food, still obviously flabbergasted by the events that took place earlier in the day.

"Perhaps he didn't expect a General to treat us so amiably, Father. Did he ever react to your hair, Cheine?"

"No," the redhead mumbled. He stuffed forkful of salad into his mouth to feign busyness. "Noaugh dah ah know o'."

"Can't hear you," Forseti lightly scolded.

He swallowed it all down with an unnecessarily loud gulp. "Not that I know of. I mean, he wears a mask, for the goddesses' sake. How could I ever know?"

The two men, the elder with brown hair and his son with black hair, looked at him, then shrugged. Great help they were. At least Lewyn was sane.

The eldest one stood up from his seat and sighed, his plate completely clear, and suddenly, Cheine was painfully aware of just how little he ate tonight. "I shall be returning to bed. It'd do well for the both of you to follow my example as well; Cheine, do you not have an early shift tomorrow morning?"

An unenthusiastic sigh from himself as well. "Yeah... Five o'clock sharp." He stood up as well and left the dishes for Lewyn to wash. A soft promise for a filling breakfast reached his ears when he passed said companion, and he gave a grateful smile to him.

* * *

Cheine woke up to a sound. He couldn't quite tell what it was, and when he tried to get back to sleep, he found himself tossing and turning instead. He looked over to his sides: the wall to his right, sleeping Lewyn to his left, Forseti's empty bed next, and a small window showing the dark night sky to the far side.

He yawned and quietly got off of bed, shuffled his feet into cool, fluffy slides. He hobbled on a line between too tired to move but too awake to sleep, but he willed himself to walk over to the kitchen, hopefully to get a glass of warm water to soothe himself back to sleep.

He managed to the doorway and open it just a bit when he heard voices. Two voices.

One, he immediately made it out to be Forseti's, but... who was the other one?

Belatedly, he realized that they stopped, and he shyly looked down.

"Cheine?"

He didn't reply.

"Go back to sleep. You have a long day ahead of you."

He shamefully dragged his feet back to bed. Who knew that childish guilt could lull him to sleep so fast?

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 **A/N:**

 **Thank you, beautiful sophomore reading list, and Linked Horizon's _Jiyuu no Tsubasa_ (Wings of Freedom).**

 **Hopefully, you are interested. Just as a note, I deliberately made the hair colors different. You'll know sometime in the following chapters.**

 **Fire Emblem: Echoes - Shadows of Valentia asked my expectations out on a date, took them to a romantic candle-lit dinner to feast upon the finest of cuisines, took it back to the beautiful castle where FE:E-SoV resided, and made sweet, sweet, wonderful love to it as it fucked my expectations to death.**

 **Reviews, commentary, criticism, flames, all welcome!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: Fire Emblem is solely owned by Intelligent Systems. TearRing Saga belong to Shouzou Kaga. That one non-canon character that will be revealed belatedly is mine.**

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 _Chapter 2: A Primal, Crushing Defeat_

* * *

"Good morning, Cheine!" A cheerful voice greeted the redhead.

He waved back, holding back a yawn as he walked into the facility. "Good morning, Asvel." A thumb to a scanner marked him present, and he looked around himself to see that he was early today.

"You did eat breakfast, did you?" His friend and coworker asked, giving him a concerned expression. It looked like he had time to address to his silver hair. His blue eyes shined with morning energy.

Cheine gave back a natural smile; warm and sunny with happy, closed eyes. He nodded as well, still too tired to make much conversation.

"Sweet! I had yams this morning, and they were very good. Are you ready to start?" He sat down on a table and pulled out various metal parts. Cheine sat across from him and mirrored his movements and began to piece them with Asvel together. Soon, with the aid of various tools, the skeleton of a handgun began to form.

"I already am."

They worked in silence, the only sounds in the quiet factory being all of his coworkers' breaths and the clink of small pieces of metal. The weather was perfectly crisp and wonderful: not too hot, not too cold; not too humid, not too weather was always perfect, wasn't it?

"Oh, did you know? I heard that a Minor Saint was visiting today," Asvel said quietly, tightening a screw in and snapping pieces together. "Oh, I'm almost out of crystals." He waved his hand up in the sky, and a servant-worker came over, silent and waiting for her orders. She was a thin thing and had long, white hair. She wore the standard uniform of a person of her caliber, with a generic short under a black vest, with a long, black skirt, as customary for the lady servants. A name tag pinned to her vest read "Alicia." "Can you get me three more boxes of crystals?"

"Of course, sir." She bowed and went off in her way, each of her movements… just so painfully rigid, at least to Cheine's eyes.

"Three?" He asked his companion. The blue-haired child nodded in reply.

"One for you, just in case," he explained, and put a crystal into its holding area, before sealing it off, never again to meet the light of day.

"And you said something about a Minor Saint?" Cheine prompted. He was already finished, and put one gently into an empty box, ready to receive its newest shipment of firearms.

Asvel's eyes brightened at the word of "Saint," just like how anyone else would. "It's Minor Saint Moulder, although a strange man with pale hair is with him this time as well… He looks to be from Lumen's inner circle… What do you think?"

Cheine shrugged, compiling the necessary materials into a messy pile. It contrasted with Asvels' neat rows and columns, but to each their own, he supposed. "If he's wearing fancier clothes, then it only makes sense."

"Fair enough. He had a pretty headband, too."

Cheine would once say that he wanted a pretty headband as well, but he already got his very own from his best friend.

Small talk like this continued, and the sun began to slowly greet the workers through a small window high up in the building. The servant brought them their extra crystals and went back to her station, always at attention for her next request. It was quiet and peaceful, and the redhead found himself working autonomously, not quite awake and not quite asleep, only stirred from his haze at the few times when Asvel would remind him to keep his headscarf up.

"Maybe you should get a better one. It's been all used up, and it doesn't look nice anymore," he pointed out after Cheine had to pull it over his scarlet hair again.

"I can't. We can't afford it, not right now, at least. Maybe if we have enough left over from Lewyn and mine's pay, then…" He nearly dropped a few outlying tools to the floor, managing to catch them all at the last second. He finished the gun he was working on and carefully placed it next to its eight other brothers. "What was our quota again… twenty-four by the end of the day?"

"Yes. Twenty-four each," Asvel affirmed. "How many have you done?"

Cheine sighed and set asides the partly-formed firearm and stretched his arms up, each finger bone cracking from the strain. "I'm on my tenth one, and you are too, right?"

"Yup! We can make our quota today, I'm sure of it!"

After a quick break for lunch, they immediately went back to work, busily arranging circuits and metal and crystal together. "Oh, how are Eric and Ephrath? Are they doing well with their studies?"

"Oh! They're splendid! I'm jealous, in all honesty. It's such an honor to study under a saint! Unfortunately, I'm much too small…" Asvel pouted childishly, nearly messing up a screw in the process. "I'm capable too! I'm sure I can do it…"

Cheine smiled and reached across the table to pat his arm as a gesture of comfort and support. "I'm sure one day you can finally perform miracles as well," he reassured.

The silver-haired boy was quick to snap out of his momentary longing. He flashed back a grin and set himself right to work again. "I know, I know. But maybe the goddesses had deemed that now was not the best of times… Every person has their role within their fate, and I'm more than happy to serve the people the best that I could." It was an exemplar speech for any patriotic denizen of Lux, which should make Cheine's heart swell up with pride for his younger companion, but instead, a sick feeling sunk to his stomach, which he hid with a perfect, small smile from himself.

* * *

Cheine was waiting patiently at the traffic light for the pedestrians on the opposing side of the road to cross when he saw a familiar flash of long, chocolate hair. He walked over to it as fast as he can and cried out happily, "Forseti!"

Said man turned around, and the young woman next to him did the same. She has longer blonde hair, perfectly straight, smooth and soft.

"Hi, Ephrath!" Cheine greeted as well, and soon stood to the side of the coming and going walkers. They all pressed themselves to the wall and watched the passers-by go through their daily lives. "So, how come you two are together?" He knew that he and his family were rather close with the twins and their charge, Asvel, but it wasn't as if they lived close together. And besides, since when was the last time Forseti ever went outside?

"We just happened to collide in our paths," she explained. She waved her hand animatedly while talking, as if she was to act out all her words for everyone else to see as well. "We made some small talk while walking together. It turns out, we had the same destination in mind! Isn't that right, Mr. Forseti?"

Said man smiled, even if for just a bit. "Yes, absolutely. Would you care to come along?"

Cheine laughed and shook his head. "Sorry, but today is kitchen duty for me. Maybe another time?"

"Perhaps." Forseti gave Cheine a pat on the head. "Oh, and I won't be home today, so Eric will be looking over you and Lewyn in my place."

There was a sudden murmur that rippled through the streets in the midst of their conversation, and the people parted quietly for two obviously distinguished people. One had ordinary brown hair and a middle-aged face, wrinkles just starting to show prominence. He wore the white robes and the silver designs of a Minor Saint. His companion had similar pale, silver hair and a soft face… That was also very attractive… and he smelled nice. Very nice.

Cheine hid in the crowd's shadow and pulled his headscarf further over his crimson hair, suddenly feeling very, very insecure, even as his feet urged him towards the stranger. A hand went to his shoulder, and he looked up. Forseti looked back, his eyes portraying understandment, and after he kindly pat him on the head again, nudged him towards the direction back home.

He stole a glance at the beautiful man once more, and even as the pair approached Forseti and Ephrath, their eyes met oh-so-mysteriously. With quick turn of the head back to where he needed, with pinker cheeks to boot, Cheine rushed himself back home as fast as he could without arousing disgruntlement from the fellow pedestrians.

After a few minutes, he slowed down his pace and did his best to control his rapidly beating heart. No creature should ever be so gorgeous… ever. He put a hand to the wall and ambled his way back home.

He couldn't get his mind off of the silver-haired stranger. His pretty eyes. His soft smile. His even softer hair. He must have a wonderful voice too… but most alluring of all was his scent. Everything about the man was hypnotizing, like something straight out of an absent-minded daydream constructed out of a twisted hybrid of boredom and desire. An angelic creature, blessed by the goddesses...

Something screamed at him. Greater than desire, greater than… was it lust? Wasn't lust illegal? What is lust?

"Hello there!"

Cheine knew that it was his voice.

"You are Forseti's ward, am I correct?"

Don't look.

"I couldn't help but notice you…"

It wasn't lust. His presence, his scent, his voice… it was attracting him, like how one might be attracted towards the horror of carnage.

"Excuse me, young one-"

What is a "carnage"?

"Are you alright?"

Listen to every word. Obey every word.

No. Something primal in him screamed out No.

No. No. NO. NO. NO.

Cheine looked up. The stranger really was beautiful. From how he felt, he must be sweating bullets. He couldn't trust himself to speak without his voice, and willpower, breaking.

"I-I-I'm fine." But he did it anyways. Someone help him. Someone save him.

"Oh. Do you need a hand?"

No. Touching would make it worse.

"An escort home?" His voice was so kind, assuring him peace.

Holsety. Lewyn. Chase. Salamander. Holmes. Hector. RunanIkeReeseYuneAnriBantuGotohWherearethedragonsNagahasthedragonsButwherearethedragons-

Luci.

Someone. Help.

"Oh, Cheine, there you are!"

Like a breath of fresh wind, the voice cleared through the strange desire-fear-filled haze in his mind.

Cheine stood up straight and smiled at Lewyn, who was previously waving at him down from the street before coming over towards him. "Lewyn!" he greeted.

He looked back at the stranger. He had a very beautiful smile. He smiled back, and believed just for a bit that his own was much brighter. "Thanks. I feel a bit better now. It must just be a faint spell…"

"I'm glad to see that." His eyes twinkled with light and goodness, and the worst part was, he was sincere about it.

No, wait, sincerity is good.

"I'm Cheine," he spoke up, and somehow had the courage to bring his hand out. The stranger shook it.

"I'm Saleh, a friend of Minor Saint Moulder. I hope we may meet again," he responded back in kind. "If you have an issue like that again, then don't be afraid to ask me. I am a doctor, after all." His words seemed more like a splendid song that no one could understand, simply listened to for its beauty. And his hands…

No. None of that, Cheine. None of that.

"Of course." Cheine dropped his hand, and only then did he feel the encroaching cramp from being so tense. It were sweaty too, more so out of… it wasn't heat, that's all Cheine knew.

A different hand slipped into his own, cooler and more familiar. "I hoped he didn't cause too much trouble. This happens at times," Lewyn explained. It didn't, but Cheine cared more for relief and comfort than the fact that his brother-figure lied. "Let's go home. It's your turn to cook, after all."

That much was very true.

This time, when he went back home, swinging hands with his second guardian for a few moments before disconnecting (he wasn't a child anymore, after all), he didn't look back.

* * *

Cheine was just done, and the sun was holding onto its last rays of light when there was a knock upon the door. Four strong ones, actually. He immediately knew who it was and beat Lewyn to the door, opening it grandiosely. "Eric, it's so good to see you!" he cried out loud with his arms out wide. The headscarf he usually wore fell down in his excitement, which no one, at least this friend of his, really cared. The lean soldier-in-training laughed and wrapped his arms around his old friend, nudging Lewyn a bit was he entered their own home. He held a packaged box, wrapped in paper.

"It's good to see you too. Oh! And where may I place this? Forseti received a package from a friend…" He looked around the place. Unfortunately, the countertop was filled to the brim of junk, utensils, and a few spice bottles here and there.

Cheine laughed nervously and took the parcel from Eric. "I'll put it in our room. Come sit down! I just finished making dinner!" he cheerfully invited. Both Lewyn and the other blond-haired man chuckled at his youthful energy. He may be 18, but he often still acted half his own age.

As Cheine went upstairs and searched for a safe place to put the package, the two quietly sat down on a seat, sitting straight across from each other. They both gave small, kind smiles, before it was immediately dropped.

Silence filled the room until Lewyn spoke up. "Father has been acting… strange nowadays. He's been going out far much more than he usually would as well. Is there anything like that with your sister?" he asked. He fingered a fork, twirling it as carefully as humanly possible in his hand. Concern and confusion remained on his face.

Eric sighed and shrugged. "I wish I could tell you. Ephrath's been… tense. That's all I know." He played around with a spoon, tapping rhythms lightly onto a table, alternating stronger and lighter beats. _taptap-Tap-tap TapTap…_

"And you? Are you alright?"

Eric looked up. "I'm fine. It's just that…" He sighed again. "I'm worried for my sister, is all. We'll be in the army the next year, never to see you both and Forseti ever again, as well as Asvel. It sucks, you know?"

Lewyn smiled and reached over to his friend and gently grasped his hands. "You'll be fine. And one day, we'll meet each other again in heaven, just like how we all do. Don't fret too much, as we all will keep you in our prayers."

He opened his mouth to say something, but seeing Cheine return to them on the dinner table, he quickly closed it again, his worried expression melting away into gentle happiness, the one that someone shows when eating a good meal with a better friend that they have not seen in a long time.

Tonight, there was a generous amount of meat compared to what the rations usually had, and Cheine had done the liberty of preparing it in different ways: roast beef, deep-fried chicken, and even a small portion of lamb, accompanied by yet another salad.

"Too bad that Forseti and Ephrath can't eat cooking this good," their guest remarked while happily chowing down on the meal. He was currently experiencing pure bliss, turning his heart away from the rest of the world to relish in the delectable food. Lewyn and Cheine laughed at his silly expression and enjoyed themselves as well, and in that moment, Cheine forgot about fear, oppression, and a stranger's unwanted allure.

It was when the dishes were all washed and the table cleared up that they sat back and relaxed in their seats, each with a cup of tea around a plain teapot in the center.

"Oh yeah, before I forget, Asvel won't be coming to work tomorrow," Eric spoke to Cheine. He nodded in response. It wasn't too strange of a thing. Oftentimes, the twins would be out for some lesson and bring their along as well. "And, Ephrath told me that she and Forseti would be out for the rest of the night with him and return in the morning, so I'll be staying here tonight." They looked out of the window that Forseti usually sat by; it was already dark out, and most likely past curfew.

They continued to sit and chat. Sometime during the evening, one of them lit a few candles and brought it over, so now each person was illuminated by its light, the rest of the room dimmer in comparison.

"What was that all about with that man, Cheine?" Lewyn asked him sometime later.

His heart skipped a beat. "W-what man?"

"The one you were speaking to. In the alleyway."

Eric raised an eyebrow and took a sip. "Who?"

"It's nothing," Cheine mumbled and swept his eyes to the side to avoid Lewyn's worried gaze.

"Would you know of him, Eric? Gray hair, I think, with a headband and robes like the ones worn by nobles…" Lewyn asked the other instead, most likely hoping for a more cooperative answer.

"Hm… That sounds like Sir Saleh. I've heard of him. No one is quite sure what he does, but the Major Saints think he's important for some reason." The blond-haired man shrugged. "I'm not sure, and I don't really care to know. You met him, Cheine?"

How was he supposed to answer that? 'Ah, yes, I did, and I nearly fell down from how attractive he was, but he's also really scary for some reason, so the next time I see him, I really need to book it' didn't seem like an appropriate answer.

So, apparently, a squeaked-out "yeah" was a better reply.

The reply sent Lewyn laughing, then almost coughing up tea. Eric smirked at them but said nothing. Cheine turned his head away, frowning.

They thought he was blushing.

Unfortunately, they usually talked very late into the night, and Cheine didn't have a viable excuse to dodge out of the incoming teasing, as he was working the overnight shift tomorrow.

 _"Crap."_

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Some notes: "Cheine" is one of the fan-translations for Xane before the SD remake was localized. Eirika and Ephraim are here, but aren't using their actual names... for now. *belches from using Holsety and Levin's localized names***

 **I belatedly realized that there was an abnormal amount of SS crew here... Oh well! :D**

 **I edited the last chapter a bit. I'd like to thank Hammerschlag for pointing out a spelling error in Maribelle's name.**

 **I'm terrible with summaries and I should probably change the current one... Idk, I'll update this when I do.**

 **Comments, reviews, criticism, flames, are all welcome!**


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